NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) - Destin Pipeline Co LLC onFriday said it had received notice from the operator of thePascagoula natural gas processing plant in Mississippi thatmaintenance, begun on May 3, was expected to be completed asplanned in about five weeks.
"Once the maintenance work is completed and when minimumflow requirement is achieved, the Pascagoula plant will resumenormal operations," Destin said in a website posting.
Destin said it would provide more details on the work asthey become available. The company also said it would continueto monitor liquid accumulation on its MP260 platform duringdeliveries to the alternate delivery point, the Viosca KnollGathering System (VKGS), but services to the alternate deliverypoint were limited.
Destin said its onshore receipt and delivery points wouldnot be affected by the plant turnaround.
The 225-mile Destin gas pipeline system has the capacity tocarry 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of supply from offshoreGulf of Mexico to the Pascagoula plant, extending north where itinterconnects with nine major interstate gas lines.
It is majority-owned by BP's Amoco Destin Pipeline Co,with Enbridge Offshore owning a 33 percent stake.
The Pascagoula plant is operated by BP and owned by BPAmerica Corp and Enterprise Gas Processing LLC. Itstraddles the Destin pipeline immediately downstream of theliquid removal facility, which is designed to remove retro-gradecondensate that may form in the pipeline.
The liquid removal facility has a design capacity of 10,000barrels per day. Gas processing capacity is 1.5 bcf per day.
Last week, the chief executive of Plains Exploration &Production said the Pascagoula maintenance would shut ina "tremendous" amount of Gulf of Mexico oil production. Plainssaid it was notified by BP that the plant would be shut for 36days starting May 3.
BP (BP.)
